Flapjack stack

I woke up grumpy as hell today. I was ravenous and someone in the household had eaten the last two buchis that I had reserved for myself the night before. I just hate it when my stomach is all geared up to eat something and it’s missing from the fridge.

With my stomach growling ”“ a reminder that it needed to be fed ”“ I perused the contents of the fridge, but nothing appealed to me. With me getting more irate by the minute, soon even I would give Grumpy the dwarf serious competition.

Might I be in the mood for French toast, perhaps? I didn’t want to make a coffeecake, and I just didn’t have the energy to get out of my pajamas and go out for some Danish pastries. I’m also not the type to have rice for breakfast, since I grew up on sugary cereals like Trix, Cap’n Crunch, and Frosted Flakes. Now, all the cereals I ever buy for myself are disgustingly fiber-dense things like Grape Nuts and bran flakes. Eck.

So I made pancakes. When I was a kid, my mom used to make plate-sized pancakes for my two sisters and me. There was always a side of bacon to go along with them and some Vienna sausages, those cute canned wieners that are capable of making anything taste good. I should ask my mom to make me those platter pancakes again sometime.

puckered up with butter and kissed with maple syrup

My previous pancakes always turned out brick-like, dense enough to leave some temporary damage to someone’s face. I sought to make pancakes that were fluffy, similar to the ones at Pancake House, which in my opinion, consistently serves the best pancakes in Manila.

Achieving light-as-air pancakes depends on the leavener used ”“ baking powder and/or baking soda ”“ as well as light-handed mixing. Overly enthusiastic mixing will only create gluten, which will make the pancakes tough.

The recipe I used called for both baking powder and baking soda as well as buttermilk. Buttermilk is not available in Manila, so I used a mixture of vinegar and fresh milk to come up with “clabbered milk,” an acceptable substitute. The acid in the baking soda gave the pancakes a coarser crumb, making them light with “bite.” The baking powder helped the pancakes rise, and the buttermilk contributed flavor.

After putting together the rest of the ingredients, it’s simply a matter of dumping the wet into the dry. A few seconds of whisking just until everything is incorporated is all that’s needed. A few minutes on a hot skillet, slap a pat of butter and douse with real maple syrup ”“ that’s all I needed to make my house a Pancake House.

the idea of vinegar in pancakes made my mouth pucker, and not in a good way. I should probably try it, but since buttermilk’s readily available to me, i don’t see that happening anytime soon.

i’ve been stalking you for about a week now, i think. i must say — i LOVE LOVE LOVE your blog. I happened by in the wee hours of the morning, read your writeup on Xocolat and was immediately hooked. You have a wonderful way of conveying flavor experiences through the written word, and the scrumptious pix complement that talent.

I also had a plate of pancakes, but at the hotel buffet (one of the better ones in the city), along with an experiment of toasted nuts (walnuts and macadamias), dried apricots, a pat of butter and some blueberry preserves in lieu of maple syrup. Your pancakes just made me hungry again for another set though!

Hi lori, your pancakes look yummy! I think I will head over to the Pancake House after work 🙂 Im just wondering, what camera do you use? Your pictures look so good! For some reason, I cant take the same quality up close pictures with my current digicam. I know it’s so off-topic, but Id appreciate if you can tell me. Thanks!